Although Gary Jones was hired to be chief financial officer of the companies set up by former West Publishing exec Gerard Cafesjian, one bank account was off limits to him.

"There was a U.S. Bank account that I was not allowed to see," Jones told jurors Tuesday in the embezzlement trial of Cafesjian's former right-hand man, John Waters Jr.

Jones, a witness for the government, said that when he was hired to oversee financial affairs of Cafesjian's companies, he saw the mysterious bank account on balance sheets.

"I went to John and asked him about the account, and John told me that was an account only he and Mr. Cafesjian could see," Jones said under questioning by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Hudleston.

The government contends Water used the U.S. Bank account -- referred to in court as "the 7856 account," after its last four digits -- to siphon about $4 million from Cafesjian, whom he worked for in one capacity or another from 1994 until he quit in March 2009. Cafesjian died last year.

Prosecutors claim Waters used his position to withdraw large sums from the 7856 account and deposited them into other accounts he controlled. The government says $740,000 went into an account for Waters' mistress, who worked at a Minneapolis strip joint. They later wed.

Jones testified that when statements for the account arrived in the mail at the Cafesjian companies' offices in Minneapolis, Waters was the only one allowed to open it.

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When Waters left Cafesjian's employ, he told the bank to mail the statements to his home in Wayzata, but one statement went out before the change-of-address took effect, prosecutors have said.

When the statement arrived at the Cafesjian office, Jones opened it and saw several large, even-numbered withdrawals in cash, he told jurors. He notified Cafesjian, who seemed surprised and wanted to know if there were similar withdrawals from his other accounts.

Jones said he later went to speak to Waters.

"I asked him ... where it was going," he said of the money. "He said it was used to purchase art, political contributions and 'other things you don't want to know about.' "

Jones reported back to Cafesjian, who hired a law firm to investigate, and its inquiry was turned over to federal investigators.

Waters, 57, of Eden Prairie, is on trial in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, accused of mail and wire fraud stemming from the alleged embezzlement. He's also accused of income-tax evasion and filing false income tax returns because he didn't report as income the amount he allegedly stole.

He maintains the withdrawals were appropriate -- and that Cafesjian knew about them. Waters claimed in a 2012 civil suit against his former boss that the transactions were loans and part of a deferred-compensation agreement the two had negotiated orally, and that Cafesjian owed him almost $5.4 million.

The civil suit was thrown out, but Cafesjian filed a counterclaim, which is pending. On Tuesday, defense attorney Reynaldo Aligada Jr. asked U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery to bar one of the government's planned witnesses from mentioning that the suit was thrown out last May.

With the nine women and five men who make up the jury and alternates out of the courtroom, Aligada argued that allowing them to hear about the civil suit's resolution might cause them to think Waters' defense "is not meritorious."

Montgomery said she would allow the witness to testify the suit was dismissed, but the witness couldn't say that it was dismissed via summary judgment. When he threw out the suit, U.S. District Judge Richard Kyle ruled that Waters had presented "virtually no evidence to support his version of the facts."

Cafesjian was the Brooklyn-born son of Armenian immigrants and became a lawyer after serving in World War II. He went to work for West Publishing in New York, and in 1960, was transferred to the company's headquarters in St. Paul.

He became an owner and shareholder. When West was bought by Thomson in 1996, Cafesjian's made about $300 million from his shares, Waters has claimed in legal documents.

Cafesjian, who spent his summers in Naples, Fla., became known as an art and gem collector, and also launched philanthropic foundations involving art and Armenia. He also led the initiative to save the carousel at the Minnesota State Fair, and it now carries his name.

He died at his Roseville home in September at age 88. His wife, Cleo, had died five months earlier; she was 87.

Waters had gone to work for Cafesjian at West in 1994. When Cafesjian retired, Waters went with him to manage the man's businesses and foundations.